The protection of crops from weeds and other vegetation which inhibit crop growth is a constantly recurring problem in agriculture. To help combat this problem, researchers in the field of synthetic chemistry have produced an extensive variety of chemicals and chemical formulations effective in the control of such unwanted growth. Similarly, the protection of crops from insects which destroy or disfigure crops is also a constantly recurring problem in agriculture. To help combat this problem, researchers in the field of synthetic chemistry have produced an extensive variety of chemicals and chemical formulations effective in the control of such insects. Chemical herbicides and insecticides of many types have been disclosed in the literature and a large number are in commercial use.
In some cases, herbicidal active ingredients have been shown to be more effective in combination than when applied individually and this is referred to as “synergism.” As described in the Herbicide Handbook of the Weed Science Society of America, Eighth Edition, 2002, p. 462, “‘synergism’ [is] an interaction of two or more factors such that the effect when combined is greater than the predicted effect based on the response to each factor applied separately.” The present invention is based on the discovery that certain insecticides and certain pyridine carboxylic acids, already known individually for their insecticidal and herbicidal efficacy, display a synergistic herbicidal effect when applied in combination.